Group IT Manager (Philippines - Remote)

Role summary

We're looking for an experienced Group IT Manager to become our first in-house IT leader. You'll take ownership of IT across our property management group, which spans Japan, Indonesia and Thailand, with most of our support team based in the Philippines.

This is a senior, fully remote role reporting to our Head of Technology. You'll lead the selection of a new Philippines-based managed service provider (MSP) and work closely with them. This is a hands-on role: alongside directing the MSP, you'll carry out technical work yourself, manage and maintain our IT strategy, and lift our IT and cyber security maturity.

What you'll do

• Lead the selection of a new MSP based in the Philippines.

• Work hands-on across our systems, including administration, configuration and troubleshooting, while acting as the MSP's main point of contact: setting priorities, directing work, and enforcing service levels and quality.

• Review Microsoft 365, our productivity platform, including its setup, architecture and security, then take ownership of managing and improving it.

• Own the IT budget, software licensing, and our application and hardware registers.

• Run identity and access management, including onboarding and offboarding, multi-factor authentication (MFA), single sign-on (SSO) and regular access reviews.

• Set our standard laptop build and oversee patching and vulnerability management.

• Make sure backups work and are tested, and coordinate disaster recovery and business continuity testing.

• Oversee security monitoring and coordinate our technical response to cyber incidents.

• Set standards for networks, remote access and technology at our property sites.

• Ensure business systems run by other teams are secure, connected to SSO and MFA, and correctly licensed.

• Build security into new systems and changes from the start.

• Write and maintain IT policies and procedures.

• Report monthly on security controls and progress to our information security lead.

What we're looking for

• 8+ years in IT, including 3+ years in an IT management, IT lead or vendor management role.

• Proven experience managing MSPs or outsourced IT, including selecting providers and managing contracts and SLAs.

• Strong, current hands-on skills in Microsoft 365 administration and security (e.g. Entra ID, Intune, Exchange Online, Defender).

• Experience assessing and improving the architecture and configuration of a Microsoft 365 environment, and leading IT projects from start to finish.

• Practical experience with MFA, SSO, device management, patching, backups and incident response.

• Experience managing an IT budget and software licences.

• Confidence making decisions independently as the organisation's senior IT person.

• Excellent written and spoken English, and the ability to explain technical topics to non-technical colleagues.

• A degree in IT, computer science or a related field, or equivalent experience.

Nice to have

• Existing relationships with MSPs in the Philippines.

• Experience as the first or only internal IT person in a company.

• Experience supporting remote teams across multiple countries.

• Hospitality or property management industry experience.

• Exposure to security frameworks such as ISO 27001.

• Certifications such as ITIL Foundation, Microsoft 365 role-based certifications (e.g. SC-300, MD-102 or Microsoft 365 Administrator Expert), CompTIA Security+ or CISM, current or previously held. These are a bonus, not a requirement; we value hands-on experience most.

Why this role is interesting

• Real ownership. You'll be our first internal IT hire, owning how IT runs across the group.

• Clear mandate. A cyber security strategy is already in place, giving you a defined starting roadmap and leadership backing.

• Choose your partner. You'll lead the selection of our new MSP and can bring your own industry relationships.

• Hands-on leadership. You'll combine technical work with directing our MSP, governance and continuous improvement.

• Room to grow. As the function matures, there is scope to build and lead an internal IT team.

• Fully remote within the Philippines, working with colleagues across Asia-Pacific.